Korean Honorific Mistakes: Rules, Examples and Common Errors

What you'll learn

• Run a four-point check on any honorific sentence before you say it.
• Fix the retail errors 커피 나오셨습니다 and 계산하실게요.
• Use 저희, 우리, 씨 and 님 correctly.
• Match special verbs with -(으)시- and avoid stacking.

Before you start: you should know the honorific -(으)시- and the polite ending -아요/어요. Time: about 30 minutes. This site places the topic at level B1, which is an editorial estimate. The official TOPIK information is published at topik.go.kr.

What Are Honorific Mistakes in Korean?

Korean honorifics raise the person you are talking about or talking to. The honorific -(으)시- goes on a verb whose subject deserves respect. Humble words lower the speaker's own side. A mistake happens when that system is applied to the wrong target.

There are four families of error, and each has a one-line test.

For the bigger picture, see the hub on Korean honorifics.

A First Example

Listen to each sentence at normal speed, then slowly.

1. 사장님, 커피 나왔습니다. (sajangnim, keopi nawatseumnida.) "Boss, your coffee is here."

Pronunciation: [사장님 커피 나왇씀니다]. The ㅆ of 나왔 is read as [ㄷ], and the ㅅ of 습 is tense. The coffee is the subject, so there is no -(으)시-. The respect shows in 사장님 and in the formal ending -습니다.

2. 제가 말씀드릴게요. (jega malsseumdeurilgeyo.) "I will tell you."

Pronunciation: [제가 말씀드릴께요]. The ㄱ of 게요 is tense after the -(으)ㄹ ending. The speaker is "I", so the verb is the humble 말씀드리다 and not -(으)시-.

Both sentences are polite, and neither raises the thing or the speaker. That is the pattern the rest of the page protects.

How Do You Check for Honorific Mistakes?

Run these four checks in order. Each one catches a different error.

1. Honour people, not things. Use -(으)시- only when a respected person is the subject, or when the subject is a part or possession of that person (간접 높임, "indirect honorifics").
2. Never honour yourself. For your own actions use plain forms or humble words such as 드리다, 뵙다 and 말씀드리다.
3. Match special verbs, and do not stack. Where a special honorific verb exists (드시다, 주무시다, 계시다), use it once. Do not add a second -시- on top.
4. Check the ending. Endings that promise or decide for the speaker, such as -(으)ㄹ게요, do not go with -시- on the listener.

Pattern Table

Indirect Honorifics: When -(으)시- Is Correct

The rule "only people" has an exception that makes some sentences with things correct. When the subject is a part, a trait or a possession of the honoured person, -(으)시- is accepted, because the respect passes to the owner.

• 할머니는 귀가 밝으세요. (halmeonineun gwiga balgeuseyo.) = "Grandmother has sharp hearing." Pronunciation: [할머니는 귀가 발그세요].
• 선생님은 시간이 있으세요? (seonsaengnimeun sigani isseuseyo?) = "Do you have time, teacher?" Pronunciation: [선생니믄 시가니 이쓰세요].

In both, the thing in the subject slot (귀, 시간) belongs to the honoured person. A coffee, a product or a price does not belong to the customer in this sense, which is why 커피 나오셨습니다 stays wrong.

Worked Example: Fixing a Retail Sentence

Goal: a café worker hands a customer a coffee and wants to be polite. The first attempt is 손님, 커피 나오셨습니다. Fix it step by step.

1. Find the subject. 커피 (coffee), which is a thing.
2. Remove the -(으)시-. 나오셨습니다 becomes 나왔습니다. The honorific marker is gone.
3. Find the honoured person. The customer ordered the coffee, so honour the customer's act of ordering: 주문하다 + -(으)시- = 주문하신.
4. Put it together. 주문하신 커피 나왔습니다.

Result: 주문하신 커피 나왔습니다. (jumunhasin keopi nawatseumnida.) "Here is the coffee you ordered."

Pronunciation: [주문하신 커피 나왇씀니다]. The -(으)시- now sits on 주문하다, a person's action, and the coffee has a plain verb.

How Are Honorific Mistakes Different from Correct Forms?

The three versions of the coffee sentence show the range from wrong to best.

The same contrast applies to the second family, the clashing ending.

The ending -(으)ㄹ게요 means "I will, for you" or "I promise". It is about the speaker's own act, so it matches a humble verb such as 도와드리다 ("to help someone respected"). Putting -시- on the same verb tries to honour the listener and promise on the speaker's behalf at the same time.

계산 도와드리겠습니다. (gyesan dowadeurigetseumnida.) "I will help you with the payment." Pronunciation: [계산 도와드리겓씀니다]. The word 계산 can also be read [게산].

For the humble verbs behind this, see Korean humble forms.

Why Do Even Native Speakers Make These Mistakes?

Service workers are trained to sound as polite as possible, so they add more and more honorific markers. The result is a style where the thing, the product and even the price receive respect. Language guides, including the advice published by the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원), treat these forms as errors. You will still hear them in shops, so do not copy them. A learner who says 커피 나왔습니다 is understood and is correct.

The reverse also happens. A speaker who is nervous about being rude may leave out the honorific entirely with an elder. When in doubt about a person, add -(으)시- to the verb whose subject is that person, and leave it off everything else.

When Do You Use It, and When Not?

Special verbs. Some verbs have their own honorific form. Use it once, and do not add another -시-.

The lesson on Korean honorific verbs covers the full list. For 있다, the rule is: 계시다 for where someone is, and 있으시다 for what they have. In everyday speech you will hear 있으세요 for both, but 계세요 is the standard form for location.

Pronouns for "we" and "my": 저희 and 우리. 저희 is the lowered form of 우리 and is used when the speaker's side is below the listener. It fits your company, your team or your own group: 저희 회사는 서울에 있습니다 (jeohui hoesaneun seoure itseumnida) "Our company is in Seoul." Pronunciation: [저히 회사는 서우레 읻씀니다].

With a family elder, 우리 어머니 is the usual everyday form. Some speakers treat 저희 어머니 as an error, because it seems to lower your mother in front of someone else, so 우리 어머니 (or the less common 제 어머니) is the safe choice. For the country, 우리나라 is the standard choice. 저희 나라 is heard, especially when speaking to foreigners, but language guides advise against it, because a nation is not lowered.

Titles and names. 씨 is for equals and juniors and cannot follow a job title. A title takes 님: 김 과장님, 사장님, 선생님. The lesson on 씨 vs 님 covers this, and the lesson on the Korean word for "you" shows how to avoid 당신 and 너.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make?

1. Honouring a thing. 커피 나오셨습니다, 이 상품은 품절이세요 and 화장실은 저쪽이세요 all put respect on objects. Say 나왔습니다, 품절입니다, 저쪽입니다.
2. Honouring yourself. 제가 가시겠습니다 and 저는 김민수이십니다 are wrong. Say 제가 가겠습니다 and 김민수입니다.
3. Stacking markers. 계시세요 is wrong, because 계시다 already has the -시-. Say 계세요. In the same way, use 드세요 and not 드시세요.
4. Pairing -시- with -(으)ㄹ게요. 계산하실게요 is a known over-politeness error in retail speech. Use 계산 도와드리겠습니다.
5. Using 저희 where 우리 is safer. For your parents, 우리 어머니 is the safe everyday choice, and for your country say 우리나라, not 저희 나라.
6. Forgetting 께. 에게 is grammatical, but 께 is the honorific "to" and matches a humble verb: 선생님께 말씀드렸습니다. In formal speech, 께서 replaces 이/가 for a respected subject.
7. Using 씨 after a title. 김 과장씨 is wrong. Say 김 과장님.

사장님께 말씀드렸습니다. (sajangnimkke malsseumdeuryeotseumnida.) "I told the boss." Pronunciation: [사장님께 말씀드렫씀니다]. The particle 께 and the humble verb 말씀드리다 work together.

For the words 나 and 저 that mark who you are in the conversation, see 나 vs 저. For titles such as 오빠 and 언니, see Korean older sibling titles.

Practice and Answers

Try all four items before you read the answers. Each answer has audio.

1. Choose the form. A café worker hands over a coffee: 커피 나오셨습니다 or 커피 나왔습니다?
2. Fix the error. 제가 먼저 가시겠습니다.
3. Translate. "I will tell the boss."
4. Write your own. Write one sentence that offers to help a customer with payment, using 도와드리다.

Answer Key

1. 커피 나왔습니다. (keopi nawatseumnida.) Pronunciation: [커피 나왇씀니다]. A thing never takes -(으)시-.

2. 제가 먼저 가겠습니다. (jega meonjeo gagetseumnida.) Pronunciation: [제가 먼저 가겓씀니다]. Remove -시- from a sentence about yourself.

3. 제가 사장님께 말씀드릴게요. (jega sajangnimkke malsseumdeurilgeyo.) Pronunciation: [제가 사장님께 말씀드릴께요]. 말씀드리다 is the humble verb for telling someone you respect.

4. Sample answer: 결제 도와드리겠습니다. (gyeolje dowadeurigetseumnida.) "I will help you with the payment." Pronunciation: [결쩨 도와드리겓씀니다]. In the Sino-Korean word 결제, the ㅈ after ㄹ is tense. Any humble verb with a speaker-based ending is right.

If a sentence went wrong, run the four checks again, starting with the subject. Ask who is acting, and then who deserves the respect.

Next Lessons and Where to Go from Here

The core lesson behind this page is honorific -(으)시-. For the special verbs, read Korean honorific verbs 드시다 주무시다 계시다, and for the lowered side, read Korean humble forms 드리다 뵙다.

This page uses Revised Romanization only as a learning aid. The Hangul is the reference. To remember the idea in one line: honour the person, never the thing and never yourself, use a special verb once, and do not mix -시- with -(으)ㄹ게요.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Most Common Honorific Mistakes in Korean?

The most common are honouring a thing (커피 나오셨습니다), honouring yourself (제가 가시겠습니다), stacking markers (계시세요), pairing -(으)시- with -(으)ㄹ게요 (계산하실게요), and using 씨 after a job title (김 과장씨). Each can be fixed with a one-line test.

Why Is 커피 나오셨습니다 Wrong?

The honorific -(으)시- raises the subject of the verb, and here the subject is the coffee, not a person. The correct sentence is 커피 나왔습니다. To show respect, honour the customer's own action: 주문하신 커피 나왔습니다 ("Here is the coffee you ordered").

What Is Wrong with 계산하실게요?

-(으)ㄹ게요 is the speaker's own promise, while -시- honours the listener. The two clash. Use 계산 도와드리겠습니다 ("I will help you with the payment") or 계산하시겠어요? ("Would you like to pay?") instead.

When Can I Use 저희?

Use 저희 for your own side when speaking to someone you respect: 저희 회사, 저희 팀, 저희 가족. For a parent, 우리 어머니 is the usual and safest form, because some speakers feel 저희 어머니 lowers the parent. For the country, use 우리나라; 저희 나라 is heard, but language guides advise against it.

Is 있으세요 or 계세요 Correct for "Be at a Place"?

계세요 is the standard form for being somewhere, as in 선생님은 교실에 계세요. 있으세요 is used for having something, as in 시간이 있으세요? In everyday speech you will hear 있으세요 for both, but learners should use 계세요 for location.

Can I Use 씨 after a Job Title?

No. 씨 cannot follow a title, and it is not used for people above you. Use 님 with titles: 김 과장님, 사장님, 선생님. Use 씨 after a full name or given name for equals and juniors, as in 민수 씨.

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